Sarnath: Where Buddha sat

Behind me is where Buddha sat.

The morning after graduation, my old classmates and I went up north to Sarnath where it is said that Buddha gave his first sermon.

One of my friends had a lot of questions about the place. Some so basic, that we had to explain that all of these relics used to be underground, under mounds of dirt and no one even knew that they were there.

Actually, you kind of forget that point when going to ancient sites like these; that everything about the place was underground and forgotten. That kings erected pillars and that Buddha sat right there and meditated.

Makes our lives seem a little less significant in a way, when we who don't even have temples or cities in our names strive so hard to make something of our lives, as if someone would remember us when our remains are underground.

Events, like graduation, are milestones of time, marking a period that we are about to leave behind.

Yesterday, we took photos after the graduation ceremony. The one we tried most to get perfect was the one where we all throw our graduation caps into the air. We tried that numbers of times to get the light and shot just right. Looking at them now, they are the ones in which we look the happiest.

At Sarnath too, we went to the saddest zoo ever and also played some children's games, blindfolding each other. Here we were in public, Master's students, playing kids games, in part knowing that soon this will all be behind us.

Surrounded by old relics, where Buddha sat, knowing tomorrow life will move on. But at least we have now.

And actually, isn't that all we ever have?

Epilogue
After Sarnath, we all said our good-byes.
Not goodbye really, but more like, "See you on Facebook."
Isn't that how it is, then?

I did it: How to survive until graduation in India

Hats off.

Today, I graduated in India.

Almost a year after finishing classes, we had our convocation (graduation) ceremony, bringing closure to my 2-year experience in the Indian higher education system.

Of course, every university is different as well as everyone's personal experience, but here are a few things I learned about surviving until graduation in an Indian university.

1. Wikipedia is your friend. Don't down it. Sometimes you may not have textbooks or a syllabus, but you do have Wikipedia. If anything, use the references.
2. Your next best friend are old exams. In my experience, about 80% of the exam questions are the same from years' past. Study them, memorize the answers, make notes from from them. Beg and plead from your seniors for them. In fact, your department may have a stack of them ready for you to photocopy.
3. You are the master of the syllabus. It is up to you, the students, to make sure the professor(s) cover the syllabus. This is especially when a class is team taught., since the teachers may not update each other on where they are at on the syllabus once the class gets going.
4. Don't sweat timing. Exam times may not be set, classes may change days. Heck even my graduation date wasn't set until about a month prior, and we did not know the time of it until less than a week prior. So don't sweat it. It was Jesus who said, "Don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things." Let tomorrow worry about itself.

So graduation day ran off like a one-year reunion. It was interesting to see who came and who did not, who got fatter and who got skinnier, and those who went on to get accepted into programs and those are still trying to get in. Actually, there seemed to be a correlation between those who got fatter and those who were accepted into programs already. I guess that includes me. I got the fattest, I think.

After the convocation we took photos and it was like old times after fresher and farewell parties. Some of us then met up with our juniors to give them advice about applying for programs, exams and finishing up their dissertations. Tomorrow, we have decided to meet up in Sarnath, where Buddha first preached.

A year prior I was imagining this day when we'd all be back for graduation. Like I mentioned in a previous post, part of it was like we never left. However, as some have not as yet been accepted into a program, there was a bit of an unsaid sadness there.

As one of my friends who still is waiting to get into something said, "1.5 lac (150,000) rupees later and all we have is this piece of paper."